


Bookmarks

by thedancinggallifreyan



Category: Classic Alice (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2014-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-24 07:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2573582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedancinggallifreyan/pseuds/thedancinggallifreyan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alice has a habit of never using real bookmarks ~For the Classic Alice fic contest!~</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bookmarks

**Author's Note:**

> Okay DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a writer. I am writing this because I got this adorable fic idea and I swear it's so cute. And I thought it'd be good for the Classic Alice fic contest. So I wrote it. Hopefully I got the terrible grammar out, but if it's still there I apologize. Also it's a lot of description not so much dialogue because I know my strengths and dialogue is not one of them.
> 
> Also yeah I know some of the nicknames are really weird. I know. I feel it.
> 
> Characters belong to Kate Hackett, I'm just appreciating the heck out of them.

Given that Alice loved books quite openly, almost anyone who knew her and had the occasion to give her a small gift knew just what they should do. Not a book, because there was no practical way of knowing which ones she had read or owned or didn’t own. No one, not even her parents, could ever keep track of which books to give her.

(She would occasionally receive books as gifts anyway, but said gifts either came from people who were brave and knew they were taking a risk by maybe buying her a book she already owned, or they didn’t fully understand the depth of her reading habit and would give her a book she loved, but had also owned since she was ten. But Alice always accepted these gifts with a smile, because owning two copies meant she could write in one and keep the other preserved. )

But Alice’s friends and family had a knack for giving her bookmarks. She’d amassed quite a collection over the years. Before her grandmother passed away she’d embroider Alice a custom bookmark each year for Christmas. An old family friend who travelled on business was always on the lookout for bookmark souvenirs from Australia or Portugal or wherever work would take her. Whenever a friend had the occasion to show their appreciation for Alice they’d select a pretty little bookmark and give it to her with pride.

Alice was grateful. She really was. It meant a lot to her that she had thoughtful people in her life that took the time to notice the thing she was most passionate about and give her something that would aid her. She kept every bookmark she was given over the years.

But she never really used them. Having nice, sentimental bookmarks meant she had to be careful with them. And careful Alice was not.

She would just get so wrapped up in her reading, her bookmarks didn’t stand a chance. Lying on her bed, rolling and adjusting from position to position as she delved into the worlds of Charles Dickens, she wouldn’t notice the bookmark so graciously given to her get lost amongst the blankets. Or sitting curled up on the couch as she read of the creepy narratives of Edgar Allen Poe she’d neglect to realize she’d taken her anxiety over the characters and their situations too seriously and crushed the bookmark in her hands. Once, while reading on Edmund’s pursuit of Turkish Delight in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Alice caught herself nibbling on a corner of her bookmark.

So Alice kept all the bookmarks given to her in a box. She’d take them out every once in awhile and enjoy each one and the stories that came with them. She really liked getting bookmarks as gifts, even if she didn’t use them for their intended purpose.

Since she didn’t use the bookmarks given to her for their intended purpose, she had to find something to mark her place. She didn’t like to do the whole “flop-a-book-upside-down” or folding the page corner over. She’d do it every once in awhile when the book was just a cheap copy she had grabbed from a used bookstore. But most of her books were too nice or too old or just too precious to her to treat with such negligence.

Even if there was no sentimental value behind them she couldn’t bring herself to face accidentally crushing a picture of a little puppy or a beautiful waterfall.

Like many casual book people (Alice imagined, as she had never been one herself) she’d just use little scraps of paper. Old post-its of class assignments, scribblings of writing ideas, or little corners of construction paper she had cut off while crafting. It was weird, Alice knew it was, that someone so organized and neat would resort to using trash to mark her reading place. But she couldn’t help how she destroyed her bookmarks in anxiety over her books. That was what started her new habit.

Well, it kinda started by accident. Alice had just been looking for a scrap to mark her place in her latest read and happened on a note from Andrew.

_“Lunch at 12:30? Text me if you can’t. See ya later Alicegator!_

_-Andrew”_

Alice smiled as she tucked the note between the pages. That lunch had been a week before. Andrew had whipped out his phone and started taking a video of her. Now that had become a regular occurrence.

He had made her laugh so hard when they were eating that the Coke she was drinking came out of her nose. Fortunately he had turned the camera off at that point.

Alice forgot that she used that little note scribbled in haste as a bookmark until the next time she picked up her novel. As she turned to her place she saw it again and chuckled to herself at the stupid little nickname he’d given her.

Alice tore apart her bookmarks at varying speeds based on how stressed she was. Crime and Punishment and the project had her a bit more stressed than normal, so she needed a new bookmark within a couple of days. Not even looking she grabbed a small piece of paper off her desk and shoved in her book, before pausing to realize she had selected another note from Andrew.

_“Sorry bout leaving the camera stuff up. I’ll get it tomorrow Alice-Palice_

_-Andrew”_

After that she made a small habit of it. Sure, she and Andrew texted and talked to each other a lot, but using his notes as bookmarks made her realize just how many he would leave her. They were always short, but somehow they always made her smile. Sometimes it was just at the utterly ridiculous nicknames Andrew would bestow on her, but sometimes the notes reminded her of some time when they had hung out, when he made her laugh. And he made her laugh a lot. And while the notes made her smile, they were designed to be temporary words from her friend, so she didn’t really feel guilty when she destroyed them with her nervous tendencies.

When they had their falling out and didn’t talk for the whole summer, Alice was so upset. She didn’t want to forgive him after he went against the rules of her project.

But unfortunately that meant she had a smaller supply of Andrew-notes to use as bookmarks. In fact, she used the same one the whole time they weren’t speaking.

_“See you at 6:30 AM you wing-nut_

_-Andrew”_

That was the night before he did it. Before he took the blame and fall for her actions. Before he stepped in and broke the rules of her project and went against her orders.

Before he saved her from being kicked out of school.

So many times that summer Alice would pull out a book only to stop at her bookmark. To think on what he did- on how angry it made her. But as much as Alice insisted that he didn’t need to do what he did and that she didn’t need saving, a small part of her always thought on how he was just trying to help. He was just trying to be kind. And a much large part of her just thought on how she missed her best friend.

Finally they reconciled- just as the new school year was starting AND as Alice started the video project back up. She was so relieved to have Andrew back.

One small perk of having her best friend back Alice was looking forward to was new notes to use as bookmarks. She hadn’t replaced that one note all summer, and as a result it was nearly unreadable, having been wrinkled and smoothed out so many times. So Alice was looking forward to having some fresh clean sheets of paper with more legible sentences on them.

But even two weeks after Alice forgave Andrew, she still hadn’t received a new note from him. It wasn’t that odd, it really made sense when she thought about it. He was at her dorm a lot more than at her apartment. When she lived in the dorm Andrew could pop by in between classes and leave her a note if he saw she wasn’t there. Her dorm had been fairly centrally located and thus Andrew came by frequently.

Andrew still came by her apartment a lot, but really only if he knew she was there. So it made sense that he wouldn’t need to leave her notes. That didn’t mean that Alice didn’t miss getting them though.

After the first two weeks, however, Andrew discovered Alice’s habit.

“Um…” Andrew said, “what is that?”

“What is what?” Alice asked as she set her book down on her desk, having just marked her place.

“That,” Andrew responded, pointing at the note peeking out from the book, “is that my handwriting?”

“Yeah,” Alice said with a hint of a blush, “you used to leave me so many notes, I kinda started using them as bookmarks.”

“Why?” that wasn’t a question Alice was expecting.

“Um,” she stuttered for a moment, trying to decide if he should get the whole truth, “I used to just use old Post-It notes or other pieces of scrap paper. You know, stuff I’d throw away.”

“Oh,” Andrew responded. Alice detected a droop in his shoulders and cringed at her choice of words.

“I don’t think of your notes as ‘stuff I’d throw away’ though,” she said quickly. Whole truth it was.

“No?” Andrew asked, with a bit of a smile tugging on one corner of his mouth.

“Of course not,” Alice reassured him, “I mean, I wouldn’t exactly save them forever.”

“Because that’d be kinda weird,” Andrew quipped, that hint of a smile turning into a small smirk.

“Obviously,” Alice kept going, “but using them as bookmarks I get to keep them around for a bit before I accidentally destroy them. I get to open whatever book I’m reading and think of you. Of us.”

“Us?”

Alice paused, “of...our friendship. How much fun we have together. Rereading your notes makes me smile.”

Andrew’s smile had blossomed into a grin. But then it faltered.

“Wait,” he started, “you’ve been using a note from me as a bookmark all summer?”

“Yes,” Alice said quietly.

“So,” he continued, his eyes piercing her with almost a look of disbelief, “this whole summer, when we’ve been not talking, you would open up the book you were reading and see that note, and think of me?”

Alice nodded.

“What would you think?”

“Well,” Alice said hesitantly, turning away from him to break from the intense gaze “I was angry mostly.”

“Rightfully so,” Andrew interrupted.

“But,” Alice continued slowly, “I shouldn’t have stayed mad for so long. What you did was wrong, yes, but I let my anger keep me from forgiving you.”

Andrew was silent.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to talk to you, but I’m glad we were able to pick up where we left off. I missed you, and I’m so happy to have you back in my life. I missed my best friend,” Alice’s sudden confession left her feeling incredibly vulnerable. She glanced up at him, nervous at his response.

He was smiling.

“So…” Alice let her confidence grow, “does that mean you forgive me?”

Andrew grinned and pulled her into one of their rare hugs. She rested her head against his chest, relishing in the feeling of his warm, firm chest against the side of her face. One of his thumbs gently rubbed her upper back, playing with the ends of one of her hair. She felt his breath trickle down the back of her neck. Oh yes, she was so happy to have her best friend back.

They talked for awhile after that. With Alice’s confession they both felt more comfortable talking about what they had done over the summer, so they used the chance to catch up. After that they decided to watch a movie. One movie turned in two, which turned into three, which turned into Alice falling asleep and Andrew quietly letting himself out for the night.

When she awoke in the morning Alice found a new bookmark.

“I missed my best friend too. Text me when you wake up Almice Rackhamster.

-Andrew”

Alice smiled and opened Pygmalion, swapping the old note for the new one. Things were finally back to normal.

Except for one difference.

Soon Alice noticed that Andrew’s notes hadn’t just returned, they had multiplied. He didn’t have as many reasons to write her notes as before, so he took to writing her notes for any little thing. Some were reminders, but some were just little notes of encouragement. Andrew ensured she always had a ready supply of bookmarks.

_“Don’t forget to return Lily’s book to her. Catch ya later AlliAliceson!_

_-Andrew”_

__

_“That pie was amazing. You’re like that dude on Pushing Daisies. Ned. Alicened, that’s your new nickname._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Have fun at the dance with Ewan._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Ewan’s a douchebag. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you. Remember you deserve better_

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Everyone knows that there’s food at football games Alice Favre, you don’t need to tell them._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“For the ten billionth time, lock your door! Sheesh Alice the Wonderlady you’re gonna get robbed._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Calm. This election is not the end of the world. You can do this._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Congrats again Madam President Alice. I can think of no one who deserved it more._

_-Andrew_

_P.S. You looked really lovely tonight.”_

__

_“I TOTAJLYY BEAT YOAU ALIE MY Amian GiRAL BOLlng isA WeoaME_

_-ANDRE”_

After that one Alice called him “Andre” for a week. As their relationship eventually evolved from best friends to something more, the notes changed as well, though their frequency remained the same.

_“That was a really great first date Alice My Girlfriend._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Have I ever told you how much I love your smile?_

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Date tonight: dinner, movie, bookstore. Sound good?_

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Cara’s wrong Alice Keys, your pies are so better than that diner’s._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Keep your head up! Semester’s almost through. Can’t wait to see you at New Year’s, and start the year with a certain tradition ;)_

_-Andrew”_

__

_“I had a great time with your parents. Tell them hey from me next time you talk._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“I can’t believe this project is almost over. I’m so glad we did it. I couldn’t have picked a better subject for my senior thesis._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Thanks for cheering me up the other day. I don’t know what I’m do without you._

_-Andrew”_

__

_“Lunch at 12:30? Text me if you can’t. See ya later Alicegator!_

_Love,_

_Andrew”_

 


End file.
